Irish President Michael D Higgins has called for an “urgent resolution” to the four-year trial in Egypt of the 21-year-old Irish citizen Ibrahim Halawa, according to Irish Independent.

Speaking at a meeting held at Aras an Uachtarain in the Irish capital of Dublin with the head of the Coptic Orthodox Christian Church, Pope Tawadros II, Higgins has raised his concerns over Halawa’s controversial detention.

The meeting was also attended by the Egyptian Ambassador to Ireland, Soha Gendi, along with a number of other Coptic Christian bishops.

On his part, the Irish president’s spokesperson said that “the leaders emphasised the crucial value of human rights, including the freedom of religion and the rights of prisoners.”

“President Higgins made particular reference to the pressing case of Irish citizen Ibrahim Halawa, which he described as needing an urgent resolution,” the presidency spokesperson added.

Halawa, he son of a prominent Muslim cleric in Dublin, Sheikh Hussein Halawa, was incarcerated after being detained during Muslim Brotherhood protests over the removal of elected president Mohamed Morsi in August 2013 in Cairo. His case’s hearings have been adjourned more than 20 times.

The Irish detainee was reported to have been tortured and gone on hunger strikes during his imprisonment.

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